
172 
AERIAL WATERFOWL BREEDING GROUND SURVEYS IN NORTH DAKOTA, 
SOUTH DAKOTA, AND NEBRASKA, 1950 
Edward G. Wellein 
Since 1946,. annual spring aerial surveys have been conducted in North Dakota 
for the purpose of evaluating the waterfowl breeding population, In 1948 these surveys 
were extended to include South Dakota and Nebraska. Each year the surveys were 
conducted during the middle of May and this year, accordingly, the survey work was 
begun on May 16. A Grumman Widgeon aircraft was used in the survey work this year, 
but in previous surveys a Piper Cub J 5 C was used. Mr. Rae Sjostrom, U. S, Game 
Management Agent, assisted as observer in the 1950 survey. 
The objective of this report is to present a sketch of the waterfowl breeding 
situation in North Dakota, South Dakota, and Nebraska as judged by the data collected 
in the course of the survey work. 
Original plans called for the abandonment of the nine transects which had been 
in use since 1946 (and which were located principally in the better waterfowl habitat) 
for a better system of transects arranged east and west across the States of North 
Dakota and South Dakota. However, it was finally decided to fly the original nine 
transects again this year in addition to the new ones to learn more concerning the 
influence of the distribution of water areas on waterfowl populations. 
The spring was undoubtedly the latest recorded in the past 50 years. North 
Dakota and South Dakota were plagued by a series of blizzards and snow storms which 
occurred in late April and early May, after migration had begun. Asa result, the. 
birds piled up against the winter front in South Dakota and Nebraska for an unusually 
long period of time, thus creating the illuSion 'that we have more ducks than we ever 
had before.'' This situation did not change until about May 10, when weather conditions 
began to improve in the North and the birds moved on. 
Because of the excessive and late run-off, water was present in the flat 
farming country which would ordinarily be dry at this time of the year. Asa result, 
ducks were as widely distributed as the water. Farming operations were greatly 
delayed and crops adversely affected. 
The data incorporated in this report is separated into two parts: Those 
obtained from the original transects and those obtained on the state-wide transects. 
The data from the older transects based on ducks per square mile are shown 
for years 1946 through 1950 in Table 1. The species composition for three years is 
recorded in Table 2. 
